Project Life : Week 3

Welcome to my Project Life album: Week 3.

Still going strong. Still keeping my album out on the desk in our craft room, and adding little bits and pieces throughout the week. Still printing my photos here at home on my new Epson Artisan printer. Still combining Instagram pics with pictures from my "big" camera. Still jotting down notes on my phone about places we went, people we saw and things we did.......and then using that as a reference when adding journaling cards to my album. Still loving this process, and feeling so grateful for this life that we are creating.

Here's a look at Week 3:

 
This week, I included Instagram pics, a free download from Ali, an invitation to a baby shower I co-hosted and a little print out to showcase my favorite show along with some bits and pieces from my stash.

We had a full weekend with a baby shower and a birthday party for our cousin, so I included an insert for this week to hold a few more pictures.

I cut one of Becky's page protectors down so that I could include 6 4x6 photos of the birthday party. I also attached a little Smash tab at the top of the page protector ("celebrate").

 The back of the insert.

For the right side of the spread, I included more pictures from our weekend, a hotel key from my stay in Dallas, and a funny little conversation I had with Sienna.

I downloaded this cute little "Magic" freebie from the Tiny Twig.

I feel like I have gotten back into a creative groove with this project. It's a fun, totally do-able way to capture our memories in a really meaningful way....the good, the bad and the completely amazing parts of our everyday journey!

Project Life (title page, weeks 1 & 2)

It's pretty sad when you wake up and realize you were dreaming about Project Life, but that's exactly what happened to me again this morning. In my sleep, I envision myself filling all of those little pockets with photographs, ticket stubs, school work, etc....and it just simply makes me happy. Guess I'm just easy to please ;-)

I have been doing a version of Project Life or Project 365 for the past 4 years, and some years have been more consistent than others. But this year just feels different. This year, I am excited about taking on this project. Excited about documenting our story. Excited about doing it MY way with no guilt, and no need to compare my creativity to anyone else's.

In an effort to stay on top of things this year, I did a little rearranging in the craft room and set things up to focus almost exclusively on Project Life.

This is the desk in our craft room where I work on my album. Nothing here but the essentials: tools (Sharpies, tiny attacher, adhesive, scissors, etc..), Clementine edition core kit, paper trimmer and album.

When it's time to work on my album, I pull out this little tray from the shelf behind my desk. It has small embellishments, blank/lined journaling cards, journal spots, tags, labels and other random journaling cards that I think will work nicely in my album. There is also a little vintage silver cup where I keep small letter and number embellishments.

 I also have a cute little turquoise basket (Target) where I keep word stickers, flat embellishments and other items from my stash that I think might come in handy.

Nothing makes me happier than a caddy full of colorful Sharpie markers and fresh Uniball pens.

Here's a shot of my Title Page with a fun little 6x12 page protector and free download from Cathy Zielske.

And here's the Title Page without the insert.

My Week One spread includes an 8.5x11 insert that contains a cute little questionnaire I found online that the kiddos filled out on New Year's Eve all about their highlights from 2011 and what they are looking forward to in 2012. Love that Grant colored all over Sienna's before I was able to get into our album ;-)

Week One (left side)

Week One (right side)

Week Two (left side) includes digital brushes and overlays from Designer Digitals (love Ali and Cathy!!)

Week Two (right side)

Thoughts on Project Life thus far:
* There was a time in my life where I bought scrapbook supplies like it was my job. That was before having 2 kids and before going back to work......but now, let's just say I have a bit of a stash that needs to be put to good use. Enter Project Life. I know there will be some weeks that will include just the basics: photos and journaling cards. But on those weeks when I have a little extra time, I plan on busting out those stickers, journaling spots, labels and cute embellishments, and adding them to my heart's content!

* I absolutely LOVE using instagram photos to showcase more of our "daily life"

* I love including silly conversations I have with the kids, little pieces of their artwork and handwriting, movie tickets, etc... and it helps to have a dedicated basket next to my desk to collect all the little bits that might come in handy when putting my week together

* It takes a little extra time, but using the digital brushes and overlays is SO worth the effort!

SO there you have it.....my first Project Life post for the year. But it definitely won't be my last!!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Goodbye 2011

Goodbye diapers

Goodbye clothes that don't fit, are outdated or don't make me feel good

Goodbye clutter in cabinets, drawers and closets

Goodbye feelings of not being good enough

Goodbye regrets

Hello 2012

Hello fresh air

Hello Zumba

Hello Rosetta Stone and learning to speak Spanish (again)

Hello adventure

Hello vacation; Hello Disney

Hello morning chats over coffee (and tea) with great friends

Hello date nights

Hello Project Life

Hello to having people over for dinner.....or dessert or drinks

Hello to being thankful for every single moment along the way

Hello to the new Bachelor

Hello to blogging consistently and telling my story

Hello books

Hello to prayer without ceasing

Hello to photographing and documenting our journey

Hello to new beginnings and to being just where I am meant to be when 2013 rolls around

*** Thank you Jenny for inspiring this post

Hello Kitty Pajama Party

Our sweet Sienna turned 6 on December 29th, and just like every other year, she was VERY specific about what she had in mind for her birthday party. This year, she chose a "Hello Kitty Pajama Party" theme, and although she would have LOVED to have all her little besties actually spend the night at our house, Mama chose to interpret the theme a bit more creatively ;-)

We started out with these cute invitations (I took out the address & contact info for this post), and designed the entire party around them.

After much "discussion" between the two of us, I finally gave in and decided we could have the party in our home again this year, which meant a massive overhaul of the garage just in time for the big day!

I rented the tables and chairs, and then dressed them up a bit with zebra print & hot pink tulle. I also hung crepe paper "chandeliers" from the ceiling to add a little flair to what is otherwise a plain & not so pretty garage space.

The Details

Sienna is a HIGE fan of donuts, so of course we had to incorporate a donut tower into our decor!

The beautiful (and delicious) strawberry cake

For our craft, I had the girls decorate white pillowcases with Crayola fabric markers. The girls had a blast designing their pillowcases, and they also served as part of their party favors.

The favors and gifts

The breakfast bar

The birthday girl was thrilled with how everything turned out, and even though it was a lot of work putting everything together just a few days after Christmas, seeing her sweet, smiling face made it all completely worthwhile!!

Vendor Credits:
Photography: Exposed by Faith Photography
Cake: Frosted Whimsy
Invitations: peace love & invites

where to begin?

WOW! I don't think I have ever gone this long without blogging, and I have seriously missed it. Busy time of year....blah, blah, blah......I won't bore you with all of my lame reasons for not blogging, and instead, I will play a little Christmas catch-up.

I took hundreds of pictures during the month of December, so obviously I can't share all of them here, but here's a little peak into how the Gussios have spent the last few weeks.

 putting up tiny trees in the kid's rooms

 waking up each morning to find George in his latest hiding place

unwrapping and reading Christmas stories under the tree

 putting up a few new decorations

 looking at old Santa photos

 and taking new Santa photos

 trying hard to get a decent family photo

 baking pretzel hugs for classmates

 being a great helper for Mama

 bringing treats to school for a much-anticipated pajama party

 chatting with Santa (again) at our Christmas "Cheer" party

 and making jars of reindeer food with good friends

 wrapping up treats for special friends and co-workers

 practicing "looking but not touching"

 wiggling an extremely loose tooth

 making sweet memories

 finding the one we asked for under the tree

 and a few more we weren't expecting

 taking sleepy-eyed pictures early Christmas morning

and wearing matching family pajamas (couldn't get Grant to stop playing)

This time of year can be a bit overwhelming. There's lots to do, to buy, to wrap, to remember. Cards to mail, traditions to carry on, lessons to teach, places to go, people to see....and for most moms there is the added stress of trying to make everything look magical and memorable. I will be the first to admit that it can be hard to balance the true spirit of the Season with the urge to go and buy and sprinkle everything with magic dust, but in the end, it is 100% worth all of the effort. There were ups and downs for our family during the month of December (just like any other month of the year), but looking back on all of our pictures from the past few weeks makes me realize all over again how truly blessed we are, and I am so very very grateful.